Wednesday, April 18, 2007
"Never Send to Know for Whom the Bell Tolls"
This morning I watched a portion of a television program that focused on the Virginia Tech tragedy. I became uncomfortably aware that my reaction to this horrific event was not as I thought it should be. Truly I felt sympathy and sorrow for the victims, and their grieving families. Yet I thought my emotion should be more poignant and piercing. I should have felt more.
I recall the distress and anxiety I felt as I watched the reports of the Columbine shootings a few years ago. I felt helpless, and a little hopeless. I was glued to the TV to hear the latest news or analysis of the situation. It bothered me for quite some time. I wanted to make sense of it, and that was not possible.
I’ve tried to figure out why I haven’t reacted as strongly, or as viscerally, to the Virginia Tech incident. Are we inured to the violence, and not easily shocked anymore? Are appalling incidents like this now something to be expected and accepted as part of life in this day and age? Do we protectively cocoon ourselves and our emotions because feeling the magnitude of such senselessly tragic events is too painful and enervating?
I’m still struggling. I should feel more.
I recall the distress and anxiety I felt as I watched the reports of the Columbine shootings a few years ago. I felt helpless, and a little hopeless. I was glued to the TV to hear the latest news or analysis of the situation. It bothered me for quite some time. I wanted to make sense of it, and that was not possible.
I’ve tried to figure out why I haven’t reacted as strongly, or as viscerally, to the Virginia Tech incident. Are we inured to the violence, and not easily shocked anymore? Are appalling incidents like this now something to be expected and accepted as part of life in this day and age? Do we protectively cocoon ourselves and our emotions because feeling the magnitude of such senselessly tragic events is too painful and enervating?
I’m still struggling. I should feel more.
Comments:
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I agree with you in that I think people don't have the same reaction towards violence as we used to. Regarding the VT shootings, what seems to be getting a lot of attention is not the victims, but what could have been done to prevent such an event and whose fault it is for not seeing the future, which I think is ridiculous.
One other thing that I've been wondering is if there is a way to prevent this from happening in the future. I mean, can you take action against someone who has not yet done anything wrong, but you may think might? We can't see the future, so how do we know if this person is a real threat or just having a bad couple of months? It reminds me of the movie "Minority Report", where police can see the future and arrest a criminal before the criminal act has even taken place. Interesting thought, huh?
PS I also wrote the anonymous message above.
PS I also wrote the anonymous message above.
I agree with you that the media blow the "blame game" way out of proportion. You'd think that they are perfect and never misreport or skew the news. Ha!
The media should stick to reporting the news and not opining on it. Sadly, I do not think it possible to eliminate the risk that these terrible events happen. Being connected to a 24/7 news cycle never gives us time to process the enormity of these tragedies. So it's at times such as these that prayer is the best path to healing and understanding.
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